Beer Braised Potatoes With Rosemary Beer Gravy

A reader from Iceland emailed me last week to ask what I listen to when I’m cooking. “You seem like a music girl,” she said.

Music, food, beer, it all seems to be a different parts of the same creature and just like food can find a matched pair with beer or wine, music is the same way.

Making these potatoes I was lured to music that was timeless, earthy and effortless. Here is a bit of that list:

Something In The Way She Moves, James Taylor

Tampa To Tulsa, The Jayhawks

Torn In My Pride, The Black Crows

Fortune Teller, Robert Plant

Wicker Chair, Kings Of Leon (this was off a Demo they made before they were famous, handed to me late one night on Sunset by Nathan. I’m not sure if it is still available online, but I still listen to that Demo all the time)

Red House, Shudder To Think

Duncan, Delta Spirit

;

Between prep, braise and eating, this is the music that joined me and the potatoes in the kitchen. A slow, lazy Sunday afternoon playlist that was a perfect compliment to a timeless potato dish.

And the beer that came along for the ride was Damnation by Russian River. A Belgian style beer that gave the starch in the potatoes a beautiful push forward in taste. If you’re a craft beer fan, or just starting to grow in curiosity about the subject, Russian River should be counted among the Craft Beer Meccas of the world. Seek out the beers they make, and plan to stop by the brewery if you ever find yourself in Northern California, or the West Coast, for that matter.

My boyfriend has been dying to try Russian River beers forever, particularly Pliny the Elder and Younger, but we live in Canada and sadly, they’re not available here. He saw a bottle of Damnation available at a bar on a trip to DC last summer.. it cost almost $30 for the one bottle but he bought it anyway just to be able to try a Russian River beer! He still has the bottle as a souvenir I can’t imagine that if we ever got hold of another one, we could bear to use it in food, but these potatoes sure do look amazing! I’ll have to give them a try with a more readily available beer here

Boy oh boy, those potatoes look like a glorious carb coma waiting to happen!! I’ve got to say that Russian River is one of my favorites as well. Luckily most of the pubs in my area carry the stuff – it’s still hard to find Pliny the Elder in stores though, and the Younger? Forget about it. Damnnation might be easier to find, though I haven’t sought it out. Perhaps I shall this week!

I heard about a Beer Bloggers conference that happened recently (I think!). Did you happen to go to that? How was it if you did?

I didn’t go to the Beer Bloggers conference, I feel like much more of a Food Blogger so I went to BlogHer Food in Seattle. I think next year I’ll try to make the Beer Blogger conference. I had to go the five stores to get my hands on just two bottles of PTE, but I have never had the Younger since it has never been bottled. I will have to make a trip up there soon just to have a pint!